Top 10 Percent of Earners Paid 68 Percent of Federal Income Taxes

Top earners are the main target of tax increases, but the federal income tax system is already highly progressive. The top 10 percent of income earners paid 68 percent of all federal income taxes in 2011 while earning 45 percent of all income. The bottom 50 percent paid 3 percent of income taxes but earned 12 percent of income.

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SHARE OF FEDERAL INCOME TAXES AND INCOME EARNED IN 2011

SORT BY

INCOME GROUPS

All

Top 1%, Bottom 99%

Top 5%, Bottom 95%

Top 10%, Bottom 90%

Top 25%, Bottom 75%

Top 50%, Bottom 50%

Dollar figures from 2010

Source: Internal Revenue Service. Note: Figures do not sum to totals due to rounding.